Kai Pritzen will seek to defend his 2017 Panorama Tour title when he lines up with new partner Courtney Kerr in Casterbridge, White River, on Saturday.
Kai Pritzen (left) will defend his 2017 Panorama Tour title when he competes in the four-stage event with new partner Courtney Kerr from Saturday. Photo: Supplied
Pritzen won last year’s four-day event with Team BCX’s Brandon Downes, who suffered an unfortunate crash in yesterday’s stage of the Tour de Limpopo.
“If I was telling you that my goal is to go and have fun I would be lying. The aim is to defend the title,” he said.
The Karan Beef/Heneways1 rider said the routes had changed completely, so they did not know what to expect.
“What also makes the tour quite tough is that you don’t have backup, so two bottles is all you have for a four-hour stage. Stopping at a water point is not an option.”
Pritzen felt that his form was great for this year’s edition of the race.
“My partner and I have put in loads of hard hours, so let’s hope it pays off.”
The 27-year-old, who is originally from Benoni, felt what he had learnt from the event was to be courageous no matter how much you suffered.
“Don’t be scared to attack; the others might be suffering more.”
Pritzen said he was very excited and was looking forward to racing with his new partner.
“It’s one of my favourite races and going into the tour as defending champion makes it feel a little more special.”
View a breakdown of the stages:
Stage one (Casterbridge, White River)
Sabie – Town Loop – White River
100km
Stage two (Casterbridge, White River)
Airport – N4 East – Mara Conservancy – Kaapmaiden – N4 West – Crocodile Valley – N4 Karino – Airport
126km
Stage three (Casterbridge, White River)
R40 – Kiepersol – R40 – White River
74km
Stage four (Casterbridge, White River) – Time trial
White River – Sabie Rd/Madiba Mills – White River
38km
